Jefferson Parish prosecutors have declined to pursue charges against a Metairie man whom deputies booked with 100 counts of video voyeurism this summer. Michael Rodriguez, 49, was arrested after he allegedly told a detective he smoked crack and masturbated while looking at what appeared to be legal photos of women he took in shopping malls and parks.

"All the charges were refused for insufficient evidence," Assistant District Attorney Margaret Hay said. She declined further comment.

Rodriguez, who according to court records did not have an attorney, could not be reached for comment. According to a police affidavit, Rodriguez was a busboy at a Metairie restaurant, but a woman there said by phone she did not know him.

Deputies booked him at his Chateau Drive home June 25, on unrelated narcotics and obstruction of justice charges. The video voyeurism charges were added after deputies said they found the pictures of women, teenagers and girls on his cell phone, and after he allegedly admitted he looked at them for sexual purposes, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Under Louisiana's video voyeurism law, it's illegal to take photos or video of people without their consent and using them for "a lewd or lascivious purpose." If the person is under age 17, and the offender takes the images "with the intention of arousing or gratifying the sexual desires," the sentencing range is two to 10 years in prison.

Rodriguez was held in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of a $2.5 million bond. But court records show that Rodriguez filed a "701 motion" in the 24th Judicial District Court in September, because he was held more than 60 days without charges being filed.

It was during the Sept. 26 hearing on that 701 motion before a magistrate that a prosecutor announced the video voyeur and obstruction charges were refused. Records do not reflect when he was actually released from custody.